Sunnyside Swap Shop closed on August 31, 2013.

Know Your Neighbor – Hobnob Grille

By Karen Hery,

What does our newest Roost sponsor, The Hob Nob Grill, and the Sunnyside Swap Shop have in common? We are both big fans of community.

When Jason Heller took over the restaurant gathering space one block off Belmont on 34th, he quickly realized that it would need to be a real local’s watering hole if it was going to thrive. It’s pretty amazing what one block from the main drag can do to drive through and even walk by traffic. But those of us who walk around the neighborhood can easily stroll past Cosmic, another great Roost sponsor, and duck into his world – a true family restaurant.

Before my email fills up with a back lash of concern over promoting sugar and alcohol to families, I’m hoping an “all things in moderation” vibe will help my real point come through.

Community comes in a lot of forms.

We started our Roost family nights with our own little weekly restaurant because a place to relax with kids for the evening that everyone is going to be happy in (including the other patrons enduring your toddler to teen) doesn’t exist on every corner like morning/afternoon coffee shops do.

I had to laugh and chuckle when I walked into the Hob Nob Grille the other day. It’s a 7 day a week Roost space. We have foosball. The Hob Nob has ping pong. We have games that our kids have lovingly scattered the pieces of. The Hob Nob diner booths are stacked with a great collection of family games (that probably even have all the pieces.)

Every Friday, we do our best to have kid friendly food and a few great things to tempt the appetite of a mature (although maybe sleep deprived) palate.

A quick cruise through the Hob Nob dinner or brunch menu and 4 or 5 things your kid (or the kid in you) will eat pop right up. The kids won’t be quite as impressed by the house ground hamburger or the made from scratch honey mustard, ranch or BBQ sauce but, what better way to enjoy tasty pub food than with fresh ingredients?

I’m planning to check out the Grilled Flatbread Za with red peppers, mushrooms and fresh basil and I’ve got the kind of kids that will eat that sort of thing too.

Where we eat and where we invest our money and our time affects the shape of our neighborhood. I can’t begin to tell you how many Sunnyside Neighborhood Association Meetings and Belmont Business Association meetings I have sat through where the subject of late night noise from sales of alcohol comes up.

If we value a place where our kids are welcome too where we can have a beer with our food, we have a beautiful opportunity to vote with our feet and where we take a seat.

Jason is often behind the bar and waiting tables. Have an idea for the menu? Let him know. Have a game you like to play? Bring it and leave it or put in a word for it and see what happens.

It’s no little accident that the super local gym that you can request your favorite work out equipment be placed in is right across the street from the soda fountain that will search around for your favorite retro candy while you place a to-go-order or sit down for a bite at that cool family pub in the hood.

We moved into this neighborhood or love to frequent this neighborhood to really be neighbors, to be community and to be more relaxed, less stressed and more a part of the fabric of life.

If that involves having a Oregon bleu burger or camel apple french toast once in a while at the corner of 34th and Morrison, I think I can handle that. How about you?